Armrests having swivelable arm supports, in particular in the form of center armrests being integrated in a backseat bench or in the form of center armrests next to the driver seat are widely known from the state of the art. In particular in the case of use in a backseat bench, however, the problem of a small available assembly space is encountered. This aspect conflicts with the large potential bearing forces which may act on the arm support and gives rise to the demand for a correspondingly stably designed bearing in a small assembly space.
In the state of the art, for this purpose generally an arrangement is selected, wherein a console element being affixed to the backrest is made of a sheet metal having a bearing sleeve embossed therein. A continuous bearing bolt, which may optionally also be disposed at both sides of the arm support, is inserted into said bearing sleeve so as to be rotatably mounted therein. Said bearing bolt, in turn, generally is affixed to the supporting structure of the arm support.
In any case, the bearing combination is composed of two metallic load-bearing components being arranged relative to each other, even though plastic sleeves are possibly used for the purpose of reducing friction.
Generally, the aims to be pursued when designing vehicle components are focused on saving manufacturing and assembly costs, reducing the weight of all subassemblies and enhancing recyclability. However, said aims cannot be optimally achieved using the solutions known from the state of the art, wherein the subassemblies/components for mounting the arm support are made of metal.